Irish Soda Bread

In December, I got an e-mail from Nancy asking me to re-work a recipe for Irish Soda Bread making it gluten-free and refined sugar-free. I saved the e-mail thinking I’d get to it someday.

Well, someday is here – just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, too.

The truth is that I’d never had Irish Soda Bread before making this loaf so I wasn’t sure what to look for as far as taste and texture. Luckily, last week we made Irish Soda Bread in my Breads & Rolls class so I got to touch it, smell it, and see what the crumb should look like.

Chef said that the most classic flavor pairing was caraway and currants so that’s what I went for in this loaf. Let me tell you something – if you’ve never had caraway and currants together you simply must stop what you’re doing and make this loaf of bread. The earthiness of the caraway combined with the sweetness of the currants and the whole-grain feel of the bread is like a little bit of heaven in every bite.

I like it sliced with a little bit of butter. I like it plain. I just really, really like it.

Don’t let the very long recipe intimidate you – this is a simple bread to make. I’ve included instructions for baking it on a pizza stone and on a sheet pan.

Preheat the oven to 400F. If using a pizza stone, make sure it’s in the oven. Turn a baking sheet upside down, lay a piece of parchment paper on it, then oil it lightly. If not using a pizza stone, prepare a baking sheet with lightly oiled parchment or line it with a silicone baking mat.

Combine the buttermilk, eggs, and baking soda in a medium bowl and set aside to let the baking soda start to work.

Add the flour blend, xanthan gum, palm sugar, baking powder, and salt to the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse several times to combine. Add butter and process until it’s the size of small peas.

Transfer the flour mixture to a large bowl. Stir in the currants and caraway seeds until it’s evenly combined. Make a well in the center of the flour and add the wet ingredients, stirring just until combined. Make sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl well while stirring. The dough will be very thick.

Using a rubber spatula, shape the dough into a ball then wet your hands and transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet. Form into a round disk shape and then use an oiled knife or a bowl scraper to score the dough into 5 pieces. Lightly dust the top of the loaf with flour.

If using a pizza stone, gently slide the loaf from the back of the baking sheet onto the stone. Otherwise, put the baking sheet in the oven. Turn the oven down to 375F. Rotate the bread 180 degrees halfway through the baking time. If it browns too quickly, cover it with aluminum foil. Bake for 45 – 55 minutes, until the bread has baked through. If you have an instant read thermometer, the internal temperature should reach 200F.

I loooooove Irish Soda Bread. My Dad's mother had a wee bit of Irish in her so we grew up eating this stuff. It is so so so good. My Mom has my Nana's fantastic recipe so I've been playing with it. I am going to try some of your techniques and see how it turns out. Thanks for sharing Amy. And surprise, I like it plain too. I could eat the entire thing if I let myself :)

@Maggie, Yes! I could eat it all too...there's something nourishing about the whole grain taste and the caraway/currant combo. It's really good comfort food.
I want to see your recipe when you post it...I want to bake it so I can compare.
Much love,
Amy

@Annette M Beliveau, Hi Annette,
I don't use sucanant because it's cane sugar and I've never played around with xylitol so I don't know. My guess is that sucanant would work but I've never tried it.
I don't think I'd use coconut milk because of the flavor profile it would create. Do you use almond, rice, or hemp milk? Those would work...you could just add a little lemon juice to get the buttermilk effect - I use one tablespoon per cup.
Hugs,
Amy

Love this, Amy! I haven't made Irish Soda bread in two years and I look forward to making this, especially since you mentioned needing to try the currant and caraway combo. I happen to have currants in my pantry for gf oatmeal right now and just bought caraway seeds to replenish my spice rack. :D

Amy - Great bread!!! I made this last night for St. Paddy's Day. Never had Irish Soda Bread, but it was surprisingly delicious! I didn't have currants so used raisins instead, and I ended up using a whole grain blend of flour as that's what I had on hand, but it was just wonderful. And just enough sweetness for me to eat it for breakfast this morning :) Great recipe as always!

Hi Amy, I made your Irish Soda bread recipe, it came out very good! I was a bit nervous about your flour blend making a bread that had a strong flavor, but I'm glad I decided to trust you lol, the flavor is great! I have your cookbook and look forward to trying your recipes now that I have your flour blend made up and ready to go!

@Stephanie Mckenzie, Yea!! I know, some people are a little freaked out by the bean flour but it's not strong at all. And, it's so much healthier than all white starch.
Thanks for sharing, Stephanie!
Hugs,
Amy

This was wonderful! I adjusted it to make it DF EG. I used rice milk with vinegar and a touch of grapeseed oil for the buttermilk. I used flax seed in hot water for the eggs. I used about 1T of maple syrup for the palm sugar (I did not have any).
I will be making this again! Thank you, Amy!

I am a bit confused regarding pizza stone and baking sheet.
" If using a pizza stone, make sure it’s in the oven. Turn a baking sheet upside down, lay a piece of parchment paper on it, then oil it lightly.If not using a pizza stone, prepare a baking sheet with lightly oiled parchment or line it with a silicone baking mat.
Do I put parchment paper on the stone or do i place the stone on the baking sheet? I am thinking just put it on the stone....but sometimes my best thinking gets me in trouble:)

Made this yesterday using Authentic Foods Multi-Blend flour and white sugar. It was so delicious. I finished it off late topped with cheese. Thank you! Looking forward to trying some of your other recipes.

Amy - this recipe is a keeper! I made it twice this weekend. While I was concerned about the potentially strong flavor of the garfava, I needn't worry, as your flour blend for this bread is just perfect. The first time, I made it with hemp milk and the second time with buttermilk. Both times I used Earth Balance butter. It was good both times, though I preferred it with the buttermilk. I served the 2nd version for a gathering at my house this afternoon and thankfully have one piece left which I'll have for breakfast tomorrow. It is one of the best gluten free breads I've made (and I've baked ALOT of GF breads). The only comment or question I'd pose is that I really couldn't form the dough into a ball, and though I oiled the parchment paper, there was no way that the dough would slide onto the pizza stone. I had to sort of inch it little by little with a metal spatula and it ended up getting a little unformed. Once I got the whole thing onto the pizza stone, I wet the edge of the spatula and reformed the loaf. That worked fine in the end. And it certainly didn't affect the flavor. It is superb!

This will be the third year I am making this bread for my irish aunt!(But not the 3rd time ♥ I love it)
It has the most delicious flavor with the currents and the caraway seeds- the whole house smells delish and i cannot wait to cut a piece right away and semi-slather with butter.
I still get confused about the pizza stone. Do I use parchment with the pizza stone or not? Somehow I make it work and have no complaints but this gets me stuck every time I make this.
Thanks Amy! C

@Christianne, I'm probably late...next time shoot me an email. :) BUT - I put the parchment paper on the stone for the first half (or so) of the baking time until the loaf has set. Then I remove it so that it bakes all the way through and isn't too wet in the center. I think the parchment will trap steam if it's not removed.
I love the caraway and currents too. Lots of butter for me.
xo

@Amy, No its not too late. I made it on the cookie sheet Friday night but I have a couple of requests for repeat loaves.... so I will follow your advice this time around. I don't know why I had such a mental block with this but thanks so much again AMY. I don't ever need an excuse to make this a second time.

Bread is in the oven...but I had to use an extra cup of flour (Dove's gluten free blend), plus a handful of oats. Amazingly, The batter was still quite wet, and I suspect it'll be more like a giant Welsh cake than soda bread. I can see it spreading out in the pan as it cooks. Hopefully it'll still taste great, but next time I'll use a cake tin.

About Amy

Living free of refined sugars and gluten since 2004 has allowed me to live a fulfilled, healthy life. My food cravings, migraines, and depression vanished and was able to maintain a 60+ pound weight loss. Today I live with enormous freedom. Join me as I create healthier food that's delicious. I'll help you do the same.